During this observation, focus on how class begins. Where is your CT before class begins? What is he or she doing? How and when does your CT establish order and begin class? How is homework from the previous night reviewed/collected/assessed? How does your CT engage students during the opening of the lesson?
Observation: When I went to my middle school classroom, I immediately noticed that before each class Mrs. H stands outside of her classroom and greets the students as they walk into the class. The classes that I observed were all extremely well behaved when they came into the classroom. Mrs. H has clearly stated her rules in the handout that she gave out in the beginning of the year, and one of them was coming into the class and sitting in their seats. When she walks into the class, she immediately starts asking the students questions about what they have learned last class. This keeps her students occupied as she is taking attendance. North Smithfield Middle School is a newly built school, so the teachers each have their own classroom computer which they are able to take attendance with, and it gets sent to the office. Mrs. H engages her students by asking them about the previous class or classes. She had the students look back in their notes to find out information that they talked about in previous classes. The teacher hadn't assigned any homework the class before, but when I asked her what her method of collecting the homework, she said that she just goes around the class and collects it from each students, this way she always knows who did and did not do the assignment. Reflection: While observing the eigth grade science class Mrs. H used many techniques which I learned in my Middle School Endorsement class. I learned that greeting the students at the door is key to success in a classroom, and that it shows that you are interested in their lives outside the classroom. I personally think that the teachers stand outside in the hallway to help police the hallways and be sure that the students are not goofing around. Also the teachers let them know how much time they have left before the beginning of the next class and try to make sure that they are not late. I definitely feel that it is important to stand outside the classroom and greet the students as they come in and will implement that when I am teaching her class. Another technique that Mrs. H used was she has had trouble with one of her classes participatingduring the lessons. She asked the students to look in their notes to find an answer to her question to begin the class, and made sure to tell the students that if they were uncomfortable answering some of the harder questions that this is a question that will easily allow them to participate in class. I learned that giving all students an oppurtunity to participate is a good way to keep the attention of the entire class because it allows the students to be engaged in their learning.
Observation: When I went to my middle school classroom, I immediately noticed that before each class Mrs. H stands outside of her classroom and greets the students as they walk into the class. The classes that I observed were all extremely well behaved when they came into the classroom. Mrs. H has clearly stated her rules in the handout that she gave out in the beginning of the year, and one of them was coming into the class and sitting in their seats. When she walks into the class, she immediately starts asking the students questions about what they have learned last class. This keeps her students occupied as she is taking attendance. North Smithfield Middle School is a newly built school, so the teachers each have their own classroom computer which they are able to take attendance with, and it gets sent to the office. Mrs. H engages her students by asking them about the previous class or classes. She had the students look back in their notes to find out information that they talked about in previous classes. The teacher hadn't assigned any homework the class before, but when I asked her what her method of collecting the homework, she said that she just goes around the class and collects it from each students, this way she always knows who did and did not do the assignment.
Reflection: While observing the eigth grade science class Mrs. H used many techniques which I learned in my Middle School Endorsement class. I learned that greeting the students at the door is key to success in a classroom, and that it shows that you are interested in their lives outside the classroom. I personally think that the teachers stand outside in the hallway to help police the hallways and be sure that the students are not goofing around. Also the teachers let them know how much time they have left before the beginning of the next class and try to make sure that they are not late. I definitely feel that it is important to stand outside the classroom and greet the students as they come in and will implement that when I am teaching her class. Another technique that Mrs. H used was she has had trouble with one of her classes participatingduring the lessons. She asked the students to look in their notes to find an answer to her question to begin the class, and made sure to tell the students that if they were uncomfortable answering some of the harder questions that this is a question that will easily allow them to participate in class. I learned that giving all students an oppurtunity to participate is a good way to keep the attention of the entire class because it allows the students to be engaged in their learning.